


Hair of the Dog

by trumpeterofdoom



Category: Backstreet Boys, Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-19
Updated: 2011-04-19
Packaged: 2017-10-18 09:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/187353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trumpeterofdoom/pseuds/trumpeterofdoom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two weeks after Nick broke up with Paris, AJ turned up at his doorstep juggling a six-pack of Diet Coke, a duffel bag, and what looked like a large bundle of fur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hair of the Dog

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2005 Don We Now Our Gay Apparel challenge for kaethe.

Two weeks after Nick broke up with Paris, AJ turned up at his doorstep juggling a six-pack of Diet Coke, a duffel bag, and what looked like a large bundle of fur.

"Dude, it's a bad time and what the… is that your dog?"

The bundle of fur wiggled about in AJ's arms. A snout popped out, revealing the shaggy head of a large dog.

"Would you mind giving me some help?" AJ asked, dropping the duffel and kicking it into the house with some difficulty. "Bernie's not exactly one of Brian's rat dogs."

Nick ran his fingers through his hair. He was vaguely aware of the throbbing at his temples, but he'd only been out of bed for five minutes. According to his usual hangover pattern, the real pain only started after at least fifteen minutes, which gave him some time to get rid of AJ.

"Dude, the hell?"

"Damn, this dog's only a puppy. I can't imagine how heavy he'll be when he's full grown." AJ put the dog and six-pack down with a grunt and looked Nick in the eye. "You know, the next time you break up with your girlfriend, I'd rather hear it from you than from Entertainment Tonight."

Nick rubbed a hand over his face. "I called Kev. I thought he'd tell you."

"You know Kev wouldn't tell us about stuff like this unless you expressly told him it was okay to."

"What are you doing here?"

AJ gestured to the dog, the six-pack, and the bag. "I'm here to cheer you up." He picked up the six-pack and pushed past Nick.

Nick sighed. "Look, dawg, not that I don't appreciate it, but all I want right now is to be alone."

"I just drove for four hours in rush-hour traffic to your place, and you're kicking me out already?" AJ clutched at his chest melodramatically. "Oh, _woe_."

"Stop that. I got more than my share of whining and drama while dating that bitch," Nick said, trying to push away the very enthusiastic dog licking at his bare feet. "Not you, baby."

"Bernie's a boy," AJ said. "And don't worry. He's house-trained and eats almost any crap you'll give him. Plus, he comes when called, which is more than I can say about you." He crouched down in the hallway and gave a low whistle, catching Bernie in his arms when he came running to him. "I mean, dude. Answer your phone once in a while. We're all worried about you."

"I was screening."

"What, for her?" AJ raised an eyebrow. "Refresh my memory, who dumped whom again?"

"Oh, fuck off," Nick said, but he opened the door, tilting his head towards the living room as a sign that it was okay for AJ to go in. Just then his headache hit, and Nick ended up knocking his head on the door instead.

"Come on, buddy," AJ said, putting an arm around Nick and supporting him. "Time for the healing and bitching to begin."

***

Nick still remembered the first time he saw AJ.

His mom had heard about an audition for yet another commercial from a friend of a friend. At that time it had only been three months since Nick had decided that his ultimate goal in life was to be in show biz, but it felt like his mom had accompanied him along to about a thousand auditions.

They had been turned away at everything so far – commercials, TV shows and child modelling contracts – but on the day of that particular audition, Nick knew something important was going to happen, he could feel it in the air. That morning he got up early, brushed his teeth twice and practised smiling in the mirror, earning him the ire of the girls as they gathered on the other side of the door complaining about him hogging the bathroom.

He'd already decided to perform the new dance routine that he'd thought of himself. It was harder than anything he'd done before, and it had taken him two weeks to perfect it enough so that he could show it off to his family, but it had been so worth it. Nick was practising his spins even as his mom shooed him into the car, he was that excited. All of that flew out of the window when they took their place in the line outside the audition.

The guy in front of him was practising his own dance routine while a red-headed woman looked on. Nick's jaw dropped when he saw the boy execute a series of twirls flawlessly before dropping down to his knees. The woman – _must be his mom_ , Nick thought – nodded her approval and smiled widely before embracing the boy in a hug.

Nick couldn't remember if he'd ever seen his mom smile that much after he'd sung for his family during barbecues. Nevertheless, she had been supportive of him when he told her he wanted to sing and dance, and had signed him up for classes when he asked. Plus she drove him to all his auditions, and he was very glad for that.

The boy looked up and caught Nick staring at him. Nick started and averted his eyes, but the boy was already walking towards him.

"Hey there," he said, extending his hand. "I'm AJ."

Nick shook his hand with apprehension. "Nick."

"Your first time?" AJ asked. "Hope you don't mind me asking, but you looked a bit lost." He was about a foot taller than Nick, and walked with a natural grace that Nick had only achieved in his dance routines after months of trying.

"Um, no. But if I get this, it'll be the first time I'm doing something." Nick straightened up and tried to look taller than his five feet. Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever grow taller. "That thing you were doing just now. Did you make it up?"

"Yup, all by myself. What do you plan on doing?"

"I dance some," Nick said before he could stop himself.

"Really?" AJ said, curious. "Can I see?"

Nick tripped up on some of his steps, almost knocking AJ over when he fell, but AJ was really cool about it and even gave him some pointers. When he did his routine again he added the dropping to his knees move he'd seen AJ do.

AJ laughed in delight. "Not bad. You learn quick."

"I do what I can," Nick said, his face flushing.

They talked as their waited their turn. It was years before Nick realised that AJ was lying through his teeth when he talked about his dad being away on secret government missions for months, but during that two hour wait they talked easily, trading stories about their dogs and schoolwork.

When it was AJ's turn, his mom gave Nick and his mom a kind smile. AJ flashed him a quick thumbs up before being led into the room.

Nick looked up at his mom, who sniffed daintily and muttered something about show-offs and how industry 'veterans' had to give the newcomers a chance. Nick bit his lip and kept quiet.

From that time on, Nick knew that he could never say no to AJ.

***

"I'm not hungry." Nick pushed the pizza box away.

"That's a first." AJ chewed thoughtfully on his mouthful of cheese. "But don't say I didn't warn you when that headache's still there tonight. Greasy food always makes the transition into the real world better."

Nick looked at AJ through the mess of his hair. He really needed to get it cut. "What's that shit they say…hair of the dog that bit you?" He lay back on the couch. "I don't want pizza. I want the hair of the dog that bit me."

AJ looked at him quizzically. "Dude, I might be okay with you guys drinking in front of me, but I'm definitely not going to give you more beer when you're still hung over." He pushed the pizza box back to Nick. "Eat. If you've gone into that weird behaviour pattern of yours you get into whenever you break up badly, then you haven't eaten in about three days."

Nick ignored the demand. "Hair of the dog. Hair of the – is that why you brought your dog along?"

AJ sighed. "You sure you're not still a little bit drunk?"

Nick slumped onto a pile of cushions and ignored his question. "Aje, why are you here?"

AJ shrugged. "Guess I needed another companion other than Bernie for a while." He finished off his slice and wiped his hands on a napkin before unzipping his bag, exposing a plethora of video games. "C'mon, it'll be great. I've got all the old favourites, and a couple of new ones that I think even you haven't played yet."

"What, you didn't bring any clothes?"

"In the car," AJ said, with a tilt of his head. "I already had enough to carry with the Diet Coke and Dogzilla. Although I did bring some DVDs along in case we got bored."

Bernie perked his ears up and lifted his head, but lay down again when AJ didn't move from his spot. Nick reached over and scratched him behind the ears. When Bernie rolled over Nick sat on the floor and rubbed his tummy, and was rewarded with a very happy dog that licked at his face when he stopped.

"So, can we stay?"

Still playing with Bernie, Nick felt his lips form his first smile in days. "Yeah," he said under his breath.

AJ ruffled Nick's hair and headed out the door for the rest of his stuff.

***

They finished the Diet Coke in less than two hours. Nick kept on complaining about how AJ didn't bring enough even as he dialled the pizza place to get more food and soda. AJ suspected that Bernie gave him some sort of leverage that prevented Nick from really bitching him out, since Nick kept the dog by him the entire time they battled it out on PS2 Golf. Nick had always a sore loser, but every time AJ beat him he just shrugged and stroked Bernie.

AJ didn't say anything when they continued playing through the night, but somewhere around the time the sun started rising Nick put down his controller and yawned widely.

"What, giving up so fast?" AJ teased.

"Fuck off, Bone." Nick yawned again. "I'm so tired I can't see straight." He slumped onto Bernie, using the dog as a pillow as he sprawled out on the floor.

AJ fought off the urge to laugh at the sight before him. "Have you even slept at all?"

"Mmmph. Not since Thursday," Nick said, voice muffled by dog fur.

"Which was two days ago." AJ shook his head and attempted to haul Nick off the floor. "Fuck, you're heavy. C'mon, we gotta get you to a proper bed."

"No," Nick whined. "Your dog's soft."

"And so's your bed. Now get up."

"Can I have Bernie sleep with me?"

AJ sighed. "If it'll get you to bed, then yes, Bernie can sleep with you."

***

"How's it looking?" Kevin's voice sounded tinny on AJ's cell. He had to walk around the perimeter of Nick's fence, circling the backyard and the pool in an attempt to get better reception.

AJ took a long drag off his cigarette and exhaled, watching the smoke rings dissipate in the still morning air. "Not good." It had been four days, and Nick still refused to talk about Paris. They had played endless rounds of video games, and empty pizza boxes were still littered around the TV and console. Other than that Nick spent his time walking Bernie and teaching him tricks.

Kevin's anger was palpable, even through the phone. "I knew she'd do this to him."

"You have to give her credit for making sure that the group still gets mentioned in the tabloids though."

"I hope you're not joking, because that's not even the slightest bit funny."

"I wasn't." AJ settled down onto a chair by the pool. "That girl was a publicity whore, Nick got all of the backlash, and we got dragged in by association."

"What stage is he at now?"

"It's hard to tell. It's somewhere between the marathon video game playing and the sleeping all day stage. Plus he's also claimed my dog as his own." AJ flicked the ash off his cigarette and frowned when the wind blew it into the pool. "I gotta say, it's hard seeing him beat himself up about it. Especially with that ugly tattoo on his wrist."

Kevin chuckled. "You're one to talk."

"Bite me. Although you'll have to remind me to give him the number of the guy that covered mine up." AJ glanced up when he heard a door slam. "I gotta go. Nick's up." He disconnected the call before Kevin could answer.

***

"Dude, you've gotta talk _sometime_."

Nick kept his attention focussed on the screen as his fingers worked away at the controller. "What if I don't want to?"

"You have to, though. Catharsis and all that shit. Let it out."

"I've got nothing else to say about it."

AJ snorted. "You're not fooling me. That girl was a bitch and you knew it."

"I loved her." Nick leaned forward and pressed harder on the buttons, stretching a leg out to prod at Bernie with his foot.

AJ slid down from the couch and sat next to Nick on the floor. "Look, there was no way in hell that the relationship was going to end happily. You know that. But you went after her anyway."

"It's not…" Nick started, but then he trailed off. He lost his game spectacularly and didn't start another one. "I just can't believe how stupid I was not to see it coming."

"You're not stupid," AJ said, putting his arm around Nick. "Heck, a few months ago I wanted to hook up with her as well. You're just stupid when you're in love."

Nick leaned into AJ, resting his head in the crook of AJ's neck. "God, and the number of premieres and openings I had to go to because she wanted to get her face everywhere."

"Not to mention this." AJ tapped on Nick's left wrist.

Nick groaned. "Oh god. I don't know why I did that."

"Same reason why I got Amanda's nickname tattooed on my arm," AJ said. "We're both stupid when we're in love and don't stop to think."

Nick nudged AJ in the ribs. "I'm sorry that she said all that shit about the group."

"You couldn't have stopped her. She was like a disease."

"But I could've tried, at least." Nick said. "And I'm sorry that I inflicted her on you guys."

"Stop apologising." AJ pinched Nick's arm, ignoring him when he yelped in surprise. "I think we've already established that dating her was a big mistake. You just need a couple of days to regain that swagger so you can go charm the ladies of LA again."

Nick snickered. "I seem to remember a certain someone locking himself up in his house for a week after a bad break up."

"That was different," AJ said. "I screwed up my relationships by cheating, you just end up picking the wrong type of girl."

"I mean, there's gotta be a way to break out of the cycle, right?"

AJ shrugged. "Maybe your way of breaking out is sleeping with every skinny blonde chick that throws herself at you."

"Shut up." Nick punched AJ lightly in the shoulder. "Maybe I can't help it either. You know, hair of the dog that bit me."

AJ groaned. "Lay off that dog thing already. You've already taken _my_ dog away from me."

"No I haven't, I just borrowed him." Nick poked at Bernie's side with his foot again. "You love AJ, don't you? You just know who needs to be cheered up, right, baby?"

"Speaking of which, get off me. It's too hot," AJ said as he stood up. "I think you and Bernie retain just as much heat." He shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted at the sunlight streaming in through the windows. "Looks like a nice day out. Race you to the pool?"

"What, now?"

"No, dummy, I'm pencilling you in for next month." AJ rolled his eyes. "Nick, c'mon. You haven't had a shower in two days and you're already beginning to smell like Bernie."

"I do not!"

"Suit yourself." AJ called Bernie to him. "Hey, boy. You wanna go for a swim in Uncle Nick's pool?"

"Oh no. I just had that pool cleaned."

AJ gave Nick a pleading look.

Nick looked at AJ, and then at Bernie. "Oh no. No puppy dog eyes. I'm not falling for that."

"Please, Nick." AJ picked up one of Bernie's paws and waved it as he talked. "Please let us swim. It's so hot."

Nick sighed. "Oh all right."

AJ jumped up and ran, taking his shirt off. "Race you to the pool!"

"Wait!" Nick scrambled to his feet. "Let me get my suit first."

"No time!" AJ stripped down quickly, kicking his pants and boxers aside before running to the pool completely naked and diving in. Bernie followed suit, barking loudly and wagging his tail frantically. Nick only managed to catch a glimpse of Bernie in mid-flight before he hit the water, tongue hanging out and looking blissfully happy.

Nick groaned. "I hate you."

***

Later when they had tired of dunking each other, Nick and AJ wrapped themselves up in thick towels and lazed around the poolside, leaning on each other.

"You need to get rid of that…that _thing_ ," AJ said, flicking his fingers at the inside of Nick's wrist. "It's so ugly."

"What, get it removed?"

AJ cringed. "Nah. Takes too much time. I had the procedure explained to me by my doctor and it just wasn't worth it. You'll have to get it covered up with another tattoo."

Nick inspected the tattoo closely. "It's ridiculous. The scabs have only just dropped off." He rubbed at his wrist self-consciously. "Maybe I can ink a reminder to myself not to date any more psychos. Like – "

"Hair of the dog that bit you?" AJ grinned.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Now you're just being stupid." He looked down at his hand again. "By the way, help me say thanks to Kev for sending you."

"He didn't _send_ me," AJ said. "I said I was going to even before he even thought of it."

Nick wrapped an arm around AJ's waist, hugging him briefly. "Yeah, well, thanks."

"And?"

"And thanks for sharing your dog with me," Nick laughed. He didn't let go when AJ hugged him again, and before he knew it, he was kissing AJ, the hot slide of lips and the heat of AJ's lithe body making him moan.

Nick froze when AJ broke away, the both of them wearing similarly stunned expressions. AJ wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Nick was already making his way back to the house, and AJ had to run after him. "Nick!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was doing," Nick babbled.

He tried to get away, but AJ tackled him onto the couch, pinning him against the cushions. Nick struggled, but stopped when AJ threatened to knee him in the nuts.

AJ looked him in the eye. "Nick?"

"I don't know, I just – Fuck, Aje. I don't know what I'm doing, okay? Let me go!" Nick was caught by surprise when AJ kissed him, and oh god, it felt so, so good. AJ stroked his neck while kissing him thoroughly, stubble grazing over stubble. Nick moaned deeply, and his hands roamed the expanse of AJ's back, rubbing circles into heated skin.

"Shhh," AJ said when they broke apart to catch their breaths. "It's okay. It's just me."

Nick still felt a bit dazed from the last kiss. He covered his face with his hand and muttered, "no, it's not okay."

"I'm not going to ask you to stop, or tell you to continue, because that's your own decision," AJ said, pulling away. "But I just want you to know that it's okay. I'm not weirded out by this whole guy thing."

Nick laughed nervously. "Fuck, you don't know how long I've wanted to do that."

"Really?"

"Years and years ago. But I always figured that you'd freak out." Nick sat up on the couch. "God, this is so confusing."

"Maybe you're just thinking too much about it." AJ hauled himself off Nick and picked up his clothes. "I'm going to get a shower, and maybe a nap afterward. You're welcome to join me in either place, or not, depending on what you choose to do."

He called Bernie in and left him with Nick, trying not to look back as he climbed the stairs.

***

It took AJ a long time to wake up from his nap, feeling groggy and warm. It was already dark outside, and his stomach was growling. He tried getting up, but was prevented from doing so by the pale arm flung across his chest.

AJ smiled and wriggled around in Nick's arms, facing him. Nick's eyes were still closed, looking more restful than he had in the past few months. AJ stroked the line of his jaw and curled up into Nick's chest.

"You take up less space than your dog," he heard Nick mutter. "But you're bonier."

AJ laughed, and snuggled against Nick. Dinner could wait.


End file.
